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When you start asking around, you’ll find that the offerings to build a website for your business are many and varied, from those that want to supply a quick “template” design to others that offer a fully customized website with all the bells and whistles.

So, what are the real considerations? Are web design companies that offer cheap template designs a worse choice over those that offer the full customized Monty, or is something in-between right for you? You’ll find that there are other more important considerations when making your choice.

The most important point I want to make here is that a website is not a stand-alone entity. It has many moving parts. The question really is whether the company that you choose to work with can handle all the various parts and whether the objectives that the business wants to achieve with the website will be reached.

What are the objectives?

That’s usually
my lead-in question when I meet a new potential client. It goes deeper than: “I
want more leads” or “I want a website that looks really flash”.

I encourage my clients to put real and researched figures to it. It’s unlikely that you’ll become the top-selling wedding-dress company, or the most popular business consultant, lawyer, real estate agent, IT company (insert your business category here), just because you have a flash-looking website. (There are very few exceptions).

When I discuss these objectives with my clients, I will usually have done some market research myself. Figures like the market size, the competitors, local and seasonal variation, etc. are valuable when placing expectations on the performance of a website.

The many components of a website

Setting out the objectives usually leads to the realization that there are many components that are linked to the website’s performance. For example, a website without rigorous SEO will simply not perform. Neither will a website with badly written, or irrelevant content, slow speed, low engagement, or incomplete and low-value link building. Equally, there are other components that should be considered in your choice of a web design company.

This list
of components will lead to a list of questions that your web design company should
have ready answers to. Let’s look at some of them:

SEO or Search Engine Optimisation

SEO is a vast topic and one that is easily misunderstood. SEO is so closely linked to the website itself that I believe that website build and SEO should be done by the same company or a team that works together closely. My advice is not to choose the website and SEO Company separately. Frequently, an action relating to SEO will require a change on the website and vice versa. Sometimes the content wording, sometimes even the hero-wording that is linked to the identity of the business will need to change. If there is a divergence in thinking between web and SEO companies it could be detrimental to the performance of the website.

Ask your web designer how they will handle the on-page and off-page content SEO.

Technical SEO can be complex at best and only and above average understanding will lead to an above-average website.

How well
does your web design company understand technical SEO and how do they apply it.

Content

Ensuring that your website ranks high in search engines is more and more reliant on good content. Keep in mind that this content has to be created, not only for the first instance of the website but also on an on-going basis. What’s more, the content has to be informative, relevant, and engaging. If you choose a web design company that is all about design and little about content, you’ll end up having a flash-looking website that no one visits because it does not rank for relevant searches.

Discuss in detail where that content will come from. Usually, the expectation is that the business will supply the content. Understand that there is a cost to that and one that is frequently underestimated. Someone with sufficient technical knowledge in your business has to supply this content for it to accurately reflect the product and service offerings of the business. Furthermore, it has to be written in a language that is engaging to your target audience and then distributed, not only via the website but also on relevant social media platforms.

Can your
web designer take an active part in re-wording this content with an
understanding of the complexities of your business and publish content on
various platforms?

Analysis

Keeping an
eye on what works and what doesn’t, who visits the site, how visitors engage, where
they come from, how they are referred and other analysis, is all-important. Since
we started with objectives, it’s now prudent to ensure that the objectives are
reached. Measuring website performance is as important as measuring business
performance.

Ask your web design company how they will handle this, whether you get on-going reports and importantly, who looks at the report, works with you on the interpretation, and how the required changes to the findings will be implemented.

Conclusion

There are other specific questions. Importantly, initial and monthly costs should be clear. Understand how your web designer handles ownership of content and URL, hosting platforms, delivery timeframes, software integration, security, and training. Ask about previous projects and successes and get client references.

More and more
I learn that being a good web designer has less to do with design and more to
do with how I engage with my clients. Those that want a quick website and
little else are unlikely to succeed on their website journey, whereas those
that engage me as a part of their team, bounce ideas off me and allow me to
lead the complete web journey, those that understand that a website is a living
entity with many tentacles, are the ones that achieve success.

Ask your web
design company how they will engage with your business during the build of the website
and what their long-term approach is. Remember that for a successful website,
your web design company will be part of your team.

Build your own website in 3 easy steps” to “No coding or design skills required“. Usually, these offerings allow you to select a template that you then populate with your own images and text. You may think, that a template allows you to just add text and images to pre-defined spaces. You’re done, Bob’s your uncle and you have a website.

There’s more to the actual process of building your website than slotting text and images into place and there are many considerations before you start building your site and some things to wrap up after your site has been built. None of that is usually included in your DIY offering.

But whether you use a web developer or are a DIYer, here are some things to consider:

PlanningLike many worthwhile things we create, much of the final success lies in the initial planning. Every website should have a clear purpose. It is easy in the design and development process to lose sight of that purpose.

Is the right person doing the workIn contrast to the advertising of DIY websites, sourcing the right images, formatting and placing them on the site is actually very time-consuming. The same is true for creating text content, look and feel, colours, and layout. We suggest working with someone that is experienced in graphic design or at least get an idea of what the site will look like before you dive in.

HostingMake sure that your site is hosted locally and that you have someone that can deal with the technical challenges of hosting. Some of the things to consider are cost, security, encryption, mail gateways, site performance, not to mention the legalities, especially if your site is a shopping cart.

Search Engine OptimisationSEO is paramount to the success of your site and has to be kept in mind throughout the design and build process. Search engines like Google have complex rules that change from time to time and your website has to be flexible to work with the changes. Your initial design and wording content is as important as keeping current.

Keeping things goingThe formula to keep your site being found is not an easy one, but in short, if you create lots of original content and you get ‘liked’ on social networks, then it’s likely that your website will perform well. None of that happens without constant and time-consuming work.

You see that there is no silver bullet to getting noticed on the web and that, like anything worthwhile, it requires hard work. It’s not that we don’t support DIY, but keep in mind that often DIY ends up in not done well or not done at all.Give us a call at Hello Web.Uli

Every website is created for a purpose. From the outset, it’s critical to define what that purpose is and how to create your website accordingly. If you find that your website is not fulfilling its objectives, then there are likely some things in the planning or the execution that are neglected. Here are five things that you can check.

You don’t understand your audience

The website does not communicate immediately what it is about

The website visitor cannot engage

It is technically poor or incomplete

It’s simply not found or – you’re ignoring Google.

Simply put, if a website is well and strategically planned it has a far greater chance of success.

Let’s look at those points.

You don’t understand your audience.Spend time to research your audience. Speak to your best clients and find out exactly what they would be typing into a Google search to find you. Never lose sight of those important keywords since a lot of your content and advertising will be built around that. That way you ensure that your website caters to your audience and also to your unique selling point. (USP). Keep in mind that times change and websites have to keep up. For instance, did you know that now well over half of searches are done on mobile devices and that voice searches are on the increase? That alone may change the wording on your website.

The website does not communicate immediately what it is aboutNo one wants to spend time to figure out what a website is about. You have only a few seconds to leave an impression. If the visitor can’t immediately tell what you’re offering they’ll simply move on. So, one of the first things we do is to re-think how we communicate your value proposition, your “above the fold” content and your navigation. The aim here is to make sure that your website speaks immediately to those visitors that are in your target audience. Since we now know your target audience, that will already be somewhat easier.

The visitor cannot engage.How frustrating is it to come across a business that you want to contact but you can’t find a phone number on the website. If you want new business through your website then make it easy for your visitors to engage with you. Even more, prompt them to engage, in fact, stop just before you beg them to engage. Understand that your average site visitor needs a nudge (and sometimes a shove) to take that final step. There is a good reason that exit popups and live chat popups are so popular. However much you may dislike them, they actually work.

The website is technically poor or incomplete.I could conjure up a long list of things of technical things that I take care of when I build a website. Surprisingly I come across many websites in my website review where not even the very basics are taken care of. Although clean code and adding Alt Tags to your images is paramount, a well-constructed website goes far beyond that. It seems though that many web developers think that their job is complete when the website is launched and up and running. The technical aspects are mostly invisible to the client as well as the website visitor, but they have a far-reaching impact on the ultimate success of the site. Ignore the technical side at your peril. You’ll be happy enough with the end result until you realize far down the line that the money and effort that you’ve spent has gone wasted, simply because Google will place you way down the search rankings.

You’re ignoring GoogleIf we follow the first 4 points we’ve already won some of Google’s respect. If you understand your target audience and your content is successful in engaging them quickly then Google will also understand your target audience and your website. In that respect, Google has to be treated just like your best customer.But there is more. Google offers a host of tools that allows us to analyse and further improve the understanding of your target audience and how they engage with your website. Over time we use those tools to make constant improvements to the website and to conversions.Google also gives us an opportunity to advertise and I believe that no business should ignore that. If you have a well-working site then using Googles paid advertising is inexpensive and effective.

Start your website journey with a thorough and strategic plan, from knowing your audience to the presentation of your business on the web and ultimately to the marketing of the website and the growth and change that it has to undergo over time. I believe that then you’ll be rewarded with a successful online journey.

With online, only the shop window has changed. All else remains what it always was.

We still look into the shop windows and then make the decision either to enter or to move on. The landing page of your website is your most important web page.Today around 70% of all purchases start with a browse on the Internet, and some time down the line that will either lead to a click on the “Buy Now” button or a visit to a shop or business with the view to purchase.

All businesses can have a shop window.

Where the shop window was the realm of those that had street fronts and sold services to passers-by, now those that would merely hang a sign above the door, the accountant or lawyer, IT Company or graphic design studio, in fact anyone who runs a business (and is concerned about not missing out on 70% of the market), has to stage a successful landing page (often the home page) in order to be successful at attracting customers.Your landing page is all about “visual” and not all businesses lend themselves to what only the eye can see. It’s worthwhile to employ a branding expert to push your business ahead of your competition.

Without knowing anything about what’s behind the window (or screen) the decision on whether it’s worthwhile to enter is based purely on emotion.

We still make decisions on emotion. Your landing page has to be convincing.

While your shop window may now be a website, the way we make the decision to enter your “shop” has not changed. Without knowing anything about what’s behind the window (or screen) the decision on whether it’s worthwhile to enter is based purely on emotion. That is why the landing page of your website has to be compelling. It has to make a promise on what is behind the door when you walk into the business or when you click to go further into the website. The good thing is that there are ways to design it so that the shopper wants to engage.

You still have to make the sale.

Ultimately you still have to make the sale. Your landing page gets a potential customers through the door, they now have to be convinced to buy your product or services. But for now, because of your convincing landing page, you’ve made a great start. I’m tempted to say that “the rest is up to you” and in part that’s true. However, if your website content is true to its initial promise it can assist with getting that important handshake from a new customer, or with getting that money in the till. Why would your customer look elsewhere?

You’ve put a lot of effort into getting that website up and running. Finally it’s live and you can show it off to family and friends and your valued business contacts and perhaps even on Facebook. (Definitely on Facebook). Here are some things that you need to take care of after your website is launched.There are now some website tasks that you now need to take care of to get the maximum benefit from your new website. You’d be wrong to think that you can now lean back and reap the rewards. That would be a bit like advertising only to your closest friends.Most websites aim to attract new business. That will only be successful if it gets seen and used by many and preferably by many that fit the right target audience.So once your website is live it pays to check that you have everything in place for your website to reach the top of search engines quickly.

There are a few website tasks that that you should be taking care of:

Onsite SEOWork with your web developer to ensure that your keywords are on target and that your on-page SEO (that’s the SEO component that your web developer should have built into the website already) is well in place. These are things like headings, the meta data, content, image tags, etc.

MobileGoogle now puts more emphasis on mobile. It’s a good idea to work hard on the presentation of your website on mobile devices and to optimise for searches that are likely to be done on mobile, including voice searches.

Adwords initial paid advertising (but also on-going advertising)You may want to run an initial Adwords campaign to get some site visitors early on. Think about creating a separate landing page for your ads. Just keep your AdWords Campaign running if it works for you.

Links to your siteMake sure that your website has incoming links. Work with an SEO agency on link building. Find any opportunity to create links to your website from other business related websites. Some are easy and obvious: e.g. Neighbourly, your own Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, The Chamber of Commerce, and there are a host of sites (free and paid) that will offer a listing service. Consider all industry-related websites.

Use Google Analytics regularlyMake sure that you have your website linked to Google Analytics and then have a look at the Analytics results often. With every visit you will learn a bit more about how your website visitors use your website. For instance, if you see website traffic going to your “Contact Us” page and you’re not getting calls, you may need a better “call to action” on that page.

Don’t ignore other search enginesList your website on other search engines like Bing and Yahoo.

This is just a small to-do list after your website is launched. My main tip is this:

Make sure that you have access to Google Analytics and then visit it often, even daily.

SOME WEBSITE TASKS THAT NEED TO BE DONE REGULARLY

It is soul destroying to suddenly find yourself on page 6 of your Google search after you just managed to make page one. It is not always obvious why that should happen, but a here are two things that regularly get ignored and that can cause a significant slip in search ranking.

Security UpdatesYour website engine has not been updated: Yes, just like your PC, your website engine needs maintenance updates. Make sure that your web developer regularly does those updates.

Fresh ContentCreate and share content. While Google changes the rules from time to time, I regularly hear that “content is king”, so create lots of relevant content. You cannot really get away from writing blogs and articles if you want your website up there in the searches.

Hello Web is a website design and development company in Auckland, New Zealand. We like working directly with business owners to ensure an effective Internet presence. We work in the following areas:The first 10 words: Ensuring that your marketing message is spot on.Your business Story: Creating your visual story on the web. The design of your website.Building your website: Magic with Drupal or WordPress. We build your website.Digital Marketing: Everything to get your website visited often by the right target audience.

New Zealand is overrun with services in most market sectors and so the competition between like businesses is naturally high. Certainly in the Web Design and SEO space, there is ample competition, not only from business within our borders but also from overseas.With well over 90% of all new B2B engagements starting with a Google search, it’s more important than ever to appear on Page 1 for your relevant search terms. It’s a fact that Page 1 companies get most of the website business. While I can (and do) spend money on Google AdWords in order to be seen on Page 1, a company that advertises SEO and Website Design services (like Hello Web) will naturally be judged by where they appear on an organic Google Search.

Everything I learned about Google Searches I learned from Google Searches

For me then, it was paramount that I get found on Page 1 for “Website Design Auckland”, and here’s how I did it.

I asked for help

The beauty of today’s world is that information is available. In fact, everything I learned about Google Searches I learned from Google Search. I did my homework well by reading lots of online material, blogs, Twitter and Industry experts. Sift through all the clutter and the information you will find is invaluable.

I invested in Software

Google rules are difficult to understand and they change frequently. Keeping up-to-date is time consuming, frustrating and, without help is usually fruitless. I use three separate software packages;

Software that tells me all about words on the website. Search ranking is all about wording, keyword densities, and keywords in strategic places on the website.

Software that tells me even more about words on the website.

Along with the purchased software, there are a host of free to use websites that you can use to determine key performance aspects of your site. I make use of many of those.

I was Patient

Try, try and try again. This is fraught with frustration because just when you thought that you cracked it you may get punished and Google decides to push you back a few pages. Persevere.Making page 1 takes time and effort. In fact, the SEO work on a website often takes as long as building the website in the first place, so if youre after a Cheap website or a DIY website, be prepared to find it a few pages down the rankings on a relevant search and ask yourself what the point is in the first place.

Stay in touch. Visit your own website often to check that it is still relevant. Does it reflect the message of your business or does it bore with outdated pages and links that no longer work? Find out how things stand from time to time. Just like your friends, your website needs an occasional visit to stay on your side.

TO BE EFFECTIVE, YOUR WEBSITE NEEDS CONSTANT TLC.NEGLECT IT AND YOU CAN EXPECT DIMINISHING RETURNS.HERE ARE 6 STRAIGHT-FORWARD IDEAS ON HOW TO STAY IN TOUCH.

Update Often

Update your site often. Make sure that you keep the content fresh so that your clients stay interested. If you have stories to tell then tell them. If there are things happening in your business then don’t keep them a secret? Your clients want to know that you’re busy, that you have things going on. Stay interesting if you want your clients to stay interested.

Stay on top of the search lists. Search engines love websites that change and that get refreshed often. Stop making changes and you’ll soon find yourself on the bottom of the list in searches. Why would anyone want to return to your site if there is nothing new to see?

Google

Things change with Google. To keep a high ranking website the SEO has to be managed well and implemented correctly and it has to follow the search engine rules. That applies to page titles and descriptions, image tags and wider content and also to the structure of your page. It’s is important to stay within these rules in order to outshine your competition. That way, if you have a great website, you can be sure that it is found by those that want to do business with you.

Look at your clients

Expand your circle. Does your content speak to your clients and to the business that you want to attract, or are you mistakenly appealing to businesses that are of little or no value to you? If you want to expand your influence, then be sure that your website and content are aimed at those that can work with you and those that you can work with.

Give your visitors are reason to come back

Give something away. Put a smile on the face of your website visitors. If you give them a reason to visit your site or to engage with you then they also have a reason to come back. That can be as simple as a great website experience, an image or a video that they get wowed by, or an actual give-away in form of information, a special or a voucher.

In the end they’re not that different, websites and friends. Both require a bit of effort to get great rewards.

If you’re an owner of a small business then your website is likely to be at the bottom of a long to-do list. In many cases, it was quickly created and then forgotten. The time and effort spent on it are just wasted.

There are a few things that you can do to quickly give your website a boost and to get it to do what it was designed to in the first place; bring customers to your business.Rather than starting from scratch (see my last point), here are some quick fixes that may go some way towards improving your existing website.1. ImagesWebsites are all about first impressions. Make the images on your website speak to your website visitors. Unless youre an expert photographer, dont try to use your own images but find something on sites like 123rf.com or istockphoto.com or the like. (Dont copy from someone elses website). I also see many websites with too many and badly formatted images. That often destroys the layout of the original design. Remove or replace those images.2. Words and blogsThe right words make your site rank high on search engines, draw your site visitors in and ensure that your site visitors understand what your business is about. Just like you would use professional imagery on your website, you should also use a professional to write your content.

If you ask someone else to write your web content then give them good guidance because theyre unlikely to be as familiar with your business as you are. Make it easy for them by providing them with detailed information and the search terms that prospective customers would use.

The more useful written information you can create, the better for your business profile and also for your online profile, but at the same time remember that white space is important, so keep your text between 300 to 500 words per page.3. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)You want your website found in search listings. If you’re in the first few listings, youre doing well, but if your website was created a while back then its likely that the way it was created does not make it rank well on search engines. Get an SEO refresh from your website developer to make sure that it’s up-to-date. If you’re more serious about SEO then work with an SEO specialist.4. LinksTo improve your search ranking, the more links you have pointing to your website, the better. If you belong to industry associations, make sure that your business is listed, with a link back to your website.Also add your business to free listing pages like Yellow.co.nz, nzsearch.co.nz, and other free listing agencies.5. Social MediaIf nothing else then social media creates links to your website. Make sure that you have a business page on Facebook and consider services like Twitter and definitely have an entry on LinkedIn. Naturally, every time you create written information, make sure it’s mentioned on all social media platforms.6. A brand new websiteOK, that probably goes beyond a quick fix, but sometimes the old website is just too tired and it just may be beyond repair. Besides, creating a new website may actually do more than you might imagine and the process involved in creating a new site can have powerful benefits for any business.

When you plan your new website, you have to view your business from the perspective of a potential customer, create compelling collateral to attract and convince them to purchase. That process will also benefit your sales and marketing department.

At Hello Web we’re keen to talk to you about your online presence and to work with you to create a top-class digital image. Give me a call on 021 640 833.

Hardly a day goes by where I don’t search for something on the Internet and I don’t think that I’m unique in this. According to www.marketingsherpa.com, 65% of consumers use the Internet to find local businesses. Once we have done our search, we may not necessarily choose the first entry, but chances are that we’ll choose from the first page. 96% of search engine users choose sites that are listed on the first page. If your website is not listed, you simply don’t stand a chance of getting new business through that channel, and while it may not be important to you, consider that some businesses, including the ones that I do online marketing for, have achieved sales deep into the 6 figures from a click on a website.

65% of consumers use search engines to find local businesses.96% of search engine users chose the sites that are listed on the first page.

Those figures make for a compelling argument to put in all effort to appear near the top of page one for your chosen search terms.A good ranking does not guarantee customers. What about a good snippet.Now for the bad news: after all that effort (and money) to get you onto page one, that is not a guarantee of gaining customers. There is a lot more that has to fall into place. For instance, what makes us choose one listing over the other can only be the text that appears on the screen, called the Meta Data Description, or the “Snippet”. Since you’re competing against an entire page of listing for a search term, suddenly that “Snippet” becomes very important. Below is an example of two snippets, the first with a call to action and specific useful information. A phone number could have been added in this case.

Compare that to the less detailed snippet below. We still know what the business does, but we don’t get the call to action.

Keep in mind though that Google determines where that snippet comes from. Sometimes it may be the Meta Tag descriptor and sometimes Google chooses text from that webpage.

Finally, the web site has to perform as wellOnce you have a good ranking and a compelling snippet, there is a good chance that potential customers will click the link to your website. You now have a captive audience and one that already has a need for your services. Be sure that you don’t scare them away with a low-quality website.

Your recipe for successIf someone goes to the trouble of searching on the Internet, then they already have a need and are qualified potential customers. Those are usually very hard to find otherwise, so if a high ranking on search engines filters them out, then what better channel to find new business.

IF SOMEONE FINDS YOUR LINK ON AN INTERNET SEARCH, THEN THAT IS ALREADY A QUALIFIED LEAD.

Three things need to come together If you make sure that three things come together:

a high search ranking with good SEO, AdWords, and digital marketing

a compelling reason to click on your website link with and finally

a good website design

then you have your recipe for success.Call us at Hello Web for digital marketing, web design and web development advice.

I come across many businesses that have launched their website, but even after some time, they have no or very little visitor traffic. Post lauch SEO services are often neglected. After all, the shiny new website is visible when you go directly to the URL, but how many actually visit the website remains and unknown.

The most imortant thing to do, is to register the website with Google and other search engines. Often, not even that is done.

Then, register with Google Analytics, so that you can keep an eye on the visitor statistics.

There are other important things. If the website has been built without doing any keyword research, it’s not too late. Get your SEO company to do competitor and keyword research and expect the content of your website to change accordingly. You may not like the new content, but trust your SEO company.

For your website to be found it has to rank high on search engines. In fact, it should be amongst the first 5 places. To get it there, you either have to employ good SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and together with that and a bit of time your customers may come. Or, you have to advertise i.e. use AdWords for your website link to appear higher up in the list. The more you pay, the higher your website will rank.

Visitor engagement is paramout. Your website has to be “useful”. It’s no use to have people click on your website link, only to disappear again after they have seen your front page. You want them to buy or call, or do whatever your website is designed for.

And then, just like your restaurant, the customer experience has to be good enough for your customers to come back. Your website has to be liked.

What use is it to have a nice website if it is not found, seen and liked?At Hello Web we offer a free website and digital marketing consultation. Call us on 021 640 833 today.

We’re a web design company based in Auckland, New Zealand. Dealing directly with SME business owners we create stunning websites and lead the SEO and digital marketing services to place them above the competition.